Next Kovalchuk to Crosby caliber prospect?

[Randall Graves*]

In the coming drafts which guys are going to be billed as Phenoms offensively? Is it Pat Kane? John Tavares? Someone else?

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[Zine]

Tavares is the only one on the radar right now that could be considered at that level.

 

[Slippery]

Tavares is the only one on the radar right now that could be considered at that level.

with his 4 guaranteed years in junior hockey, if he continues to develop, could go down as the highest scoring OHL player of all time. That 4th year should be mighty interesting, if he continues to progress.

 

[Rand]

The closest thing to it is probably Tavares assuming he continues to develop as expected.
To be honest, I see him as being more reminiscent of Spezza then Kovalchuk however.

Though I'm unconvinced he deserves it Angelo Esposito will probably draw a few comparisons next year as well.

 

[Talent Analyst]

Keven Lessard ..

 

[King'sPawn]

I've heard the guys to look out for in the near future are John Tavares and Steven Anthony.

 

[s7ark]

Tavares for sure.

And I guess we'll see what Angelo can do this year. All kinds of talent in that kid too.

 

[Crosby=Gretzky]

The 2009 draft sure has some great talents. Not only Anthony and Tavares, Russian Andrej Kuchin is an awesome player, can play both F and D, and Swede Magnus Paajarvi. he was among the top scorers at the TV-Pucken tournament(Swedish national tournament for 16- year olds) as a double underager last year.

 

[petrklima85]

forgive my ignorance....Steven Anthony???

 

[STS44]

In the coming drafts which guys are going to be billed as Phenoms offensively? Is it Pat Kane? John Tavares? Someone else?

John Tavares definetly - depending on how they play this upcoming season you might want to add Pat Kane and Angelo Esposito. Both have tremendous upside potential and have been key players and team leaders in whatever program or teams they have played for.

 

[Crosby=Gretzky]

forgive my ignorance....Steven Anthony???

He's a forward from Nova Scotia eligible for the 2009 draft. He played at Holderness School last year, but is going back to the Darthmouth Subways this season.

 

[cagney]

I'm really surprised that Kane's name has come up twice already in this thread. He's an excellent scorer and a solid all around player but I've never heard anyone put him in this kind of company over the years. I guess the combination of being able to say that he broke Kessel's scoring record and all the anticipation of whether he'd go NCAA or play with the Knights has just fueled a massive hype machine around him. He's nothing like Crosby or Kovalchuk.

 

[Jaded-Fan]

....... yes but which would play best on Crosby or Malkin's wing?

 

[Kevin Forbes]

I really don't think Esposito is at that level. Talented? Definitely. Phenom? Probably not. He's a good bet at the top spot in the 07 draft, but I still don't think he'll become anything befitting the same level as Kovalchuk or Crosby.

 

[Bernier 26]

Devon Macausland dominated the pee-wee tournament in Québec but he's getting a bit lazy. He might not be the next Crosby, but a future NHL star if he keeps training.

 

[Transported Upstater]

Talent Analyst

 

[Duff88]

I don't like venturing too far into the future.

Just look at what happened to Romy Elayoubi... Second overall pick in the 2005 NHL Draft!

 

[gimzo23]

What about Matt Duchene? Don't know more about him than what's written here though:
http://www.thn.com/en/news/news.asp?idNews=21624

 

[ryz]

Since when was Kovalchuk a Crosby caliber prospect?

 

[Vladiator]

Since when was Kovalchuk a Crosby caliber prospect?

I think he means that we should consider prospects from Kovalchuks to Crosby's caliber. Which begs the question why don't we go a bit further and also consider prospects of Ovechkin's caliber?

 

[AgentOrange*]

I think he means that we should consider prospects from Kovalchuks to Crosby's caliber. Which begs the question why don't we go a bit further and also consider prospects of Ovechkin's caliber?

How about we consider prospects of Tavares's caliber?

 

[Rand]

I don't like venturing too far into the future.

Just look at what happened to Romy Elayoubi... Second overall pick in the 2005 NHL Draft!

I guess your not a big fan of would be superstars that stagnate to the point wherein their not even worth drafting at all?

 

[Zine]

I really don't think Esposito is at that level. Talented? Definitely. Phenom? Probably not. He's a good bet at the top spot in the 07 draft, but I still don't think he'll become anything befitting the same level as Kovalchuk or Crosby.

Exactly.

An 18 year old Kovalchuk put up 51pts in 65 games in the 'old' NHL. I don't see Esposito (or anyone else from the '07 draft) getting anything remotely close to that as an 18 year old -- much less put up Crosby type numbers.

 

[Big Phil]

You cant underrate Esposito. If he charges into the QMJHL this year and gets anywhere from 130-140 points you might put him near Kovalchuk. Tavares looks great as does Patrice Cormier for 2008 but in Crosby's class? I dont know about that if there is anyone. I mean if you look at the NHL forecasters this year all but one I've read has Crosby leading the NHL in points, as a 19 year old. That's pretty big shoes to fill. We'll see in 2009 how Tavares is by then

 

[MALKIN IS GOD !!!!!!*]

In the coming drafts which guys are going to be billed as Phenoms offensively? Is it Pat Kane? John Tavares? Someone else?

Non of these guys compare to Crosby!!!